Sickness
by torischall
Summary: When Ichigo falls ill for no reason, it is up to his friends to help him through it. but without his powers, what will the future hold?
1. Chapter 1

Ichigo never usually had a problem with being sick. In fact, he could count the times he got sick enough to miss school on one hand. But today was different. Ichigo had always been one to wake early, but this morning he had woken two hours earlier. His skin felt like it was on fire and he was certain someone was ramming a sword through his skull. His stomach churned as he managed to stumble to his feet, barely making it to the bathroom before he began throwing up. When his stomach had nothing left to lose, he sat back, body trembling. He erased the contents of his sickness and washed his mouth out. His skin was as white as a sheet and there was a sheen of sweat coating his body. God, he must've been really sick to look so bad. He had dark bags under his eyes even he had been sleeping fairly well the last month or so. He turned away from the mirror and began his descent down the stairs. He hesitated when he saw his father was awake making coffee.

"You're up early, "his dad commented, "is something wrong?"

"Yeah," Ichigo sighed, wincing as speaking irritated his throat, "I'm sick."

"I can tell, coffee?" He offered Ichigo a mug and he took it even though he knew he wouldn't drink any of it. "I'll tell the girls you aren't feeling well."

"Thanks, dad," Ichigo answered, shivering even though he was sweating. dad frowned at that and put a hand to his head.

"You have a fever," he began rummaging around for a thermometer. Ichigo rolled his eyes but let him do what he wanted. Ichigo was too sick to care much about anything. "It's really high, Ichigo, 102."

"I'll be fine, I just want to rest some more." He took Ichigo's untouched drink and ushered him up the stairs.

'Alright, if you need anything just call me."

"Got it," Ichigo mumbled, already falling back to sleep

When he woke up he felt worse, if that was even possible. He heard a knock on his door.

"Ichigo, are you awake?" Yuzu asked softly, not wanting to wake him if he wasn't.

"Yeah, come in," Ichigo called back quietly, aware that talking hurt significantly more than it did before. The door opened to reveal Yuzu and Karin.

"Dad wasn't kidding, you really do look like death," Karin muttered with a frown.

"Haha, what do you want?" Ichigo asked weakly.

"We just wanted to check on you, Karin will be home early today so if you need her…" She trailed off as Ichigo motioned for her to get closer. When she was within arm's length, he ruffled her hair affectionately.

"Get to school, you two." Ichigo smiled.

"Get better soon!" they both told him before leaving. Ichigo groaned softly, trying in vain to fall back asleep, but the pain in his head kept him up for the next hour. Eventually, he got up and managed to stumble down the stairs. Ichigo saw a note from his dad next to painkillers and a fever reducer. Ichigo followed the instructions and took them, barely even noticing that everything tasted like chalk mixed with a hint of copper.

Ichigo sat on the couch when he began feeling dizzy. his eyes closed as he fell sideways, breathing labored. How much sicker could he get? That was how Karin found him four hours later.

"Ichigo?" She looked around, trying to find Ichigo. When she saw him, she dropped everything onto the floor and rushed to kneel beside him. "Ichigo!"

Ichigo only mumbled incoherently in response. She frantically got together supplies, took his temperature again and paled. How was he not dead? His temperature was nearing 110o. He didn't respond to any of Karin's attempts to wake him.

"Ichigo wake up!" She slapped him lightly on the face and he moaned, eyes blinking up at her. Recognition sparked in his gaze as he tried and failed to push himself up.

"Everything is spinning," He moaned softly, finally managing to sit up. He was shaking violently from the effort.

"Hang on Ichigo, I'll call dad. He'll know...We'll get you some help."

"Karin…"He moaned softly, voice sounding pitiful and afraid, "He's coming."

"Who's coming? Ichigo?" Karin was shaking him roughly now but stopped when tendrils of black began bleeding into his eyes and he irises melted to amber, "Ichigo!"

"Not Ichigo, Shiro," Shiro commented with a weak chuckle. He grinned almost deliriously up at her. "So, Karin, you're probably concerned about Ichigo."

"Of course I am you, idiot, what happened to him? Why are you here/" she demanded, backing away from him slightly. His eyes fluttered momentarily and his body swayed before he steadied himself.

"Sorry, He's...unresponsive right now...I stepped in in order to help you out some. Ever since he lost his powers I've been unable to get through to him. Now that his powers have returned enough his body is growing weak and he got sick. I was only able to come through because his link to the inner world was just opened recently." He began coughing harshly, skin beginning to pale rapidly. A streak of white appeared in his hair, "We need to get him to Urahara's place before his body continues to deteriorate. Being around an area of high spiritual presence will help him recover faster. He won't die, but I don't know how long it'll be until he begins to recover." He was breathing heavily again and his voice was pained.

"Let me get this straight, Ichigo lost all his powers and it was assumed he wasn't going to get them back. But somehow instead of disappearing, they were completely drained and they've been very slowly building up again. And then there was a sudden increase in his spiritual presence which caused his now unaccustomed body to begin weakening as it tries to adapt to now having his powers again after nearly four months. And because of this, you, his inner hollow, have now reconnected with him in order to tell me this. And you don't know how long he'll be like this?" Karin asked.

"No...I don't...but please, Karin...we need to get him someplace...that he can be watched...in case something happens..." Shiro was having difficulties breathing and speaking now, he tried to stand and stumbled, catching himself on the wall, "We need to...hurry...His body is getting weaker."

"Alright, here, lean on me. We don't have a car so it'll be slow, but...It's the best we've got. Cmon Shiro," Karin bit her bottom lip as she slung his arm around her, letting him half walk, half stumble, beside her. They made good progress before being seen. Nearly halfway to Urahara's shop, before they heard a gasp. Shiro turned his head to the left and saw Rukia in shinigami form, along with Orihime, Chad, and Ishida.

"Damn, almost made it too." Shiro laughed weakly, the duel quality of his voice making it clear who was in control at the moment. Rukia drew her sword.

"Karin, get away from him!" Rukia commanded, getting ready to attack. Just then, Shiro lost his balance and went to the ground, dragging Karin partially with him. She crouching next to him, trying to get him off his knees. He was coughing harshly, blood splattering against the pavement.

"Fuck, we don't have time for this! Do you want Ichigo to die? If this keeps up he'll be defenseless as countless hollows flock towards this area!" Shiro snarled, his voice holding poorly contained rage and fear. 'It isn't me you have to worry about!" He stumbled to his feet and leaned heavily against the wall, panting from the effort. His face was scrunched up in pain as blood dripped from his chin. "Karin, we need to get out of the street...before…" his eyes fluttered and stayed closed as his body went limp.

"Shiro! God dammit Shiro wake up! I can't carry you by myself," Karin was frantically trying to rouse him with tears in her eyes, "Chad helps him. We need to get him to Urahara's shop."

"What's happened?" chad asked as he picked up Ichigo's limp body. Shiro's effects had yet to leave, showing he was still in control despite the unconscious state. Karin just mutely shook her head. Even she had no clue. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Shiro shifted in Chad's arms.

"Ichigo...has gotten his powers back...but everything comes with a price…"Shiro sounded weak, and everyone grew concerned, "All this time he believed his power gone. Yet this morning he grew sick, and it only spiraled down the drain. An hour ago he entered our inner world and collapsed immediately. I couldn't get him to respond and I knew that...if I wanted him to recover...I had to take control." He was drenched in sweat as he spoke, "He won't die...but his body is rapidly...trying to accommodate...the sudden increase in power...I don't know what triggered it...but instead of increasing slowly as it had been for months...it spikes dangerously and filled instantaneously."

"I think I know why." Karin murmured as they walked, "yesterday...Late last night I went to check on him because I heard a noise. He was on the floor, and it looked like he had been afraid. I think he might've heard the hollow's roar last night when it got close to our house and it shocked him because he wasn't expecting it. If what you said about his power recovering is true, then it had recovered enough for him to hear it and after he realized what it was, the flood gates opened.

"That, or he might've heard me talking to him. Every...once in...a while I'll call his name...to see if he can hear me again...but he never responded, "Shiro sounded sad and lonely, "I enjoyed talking to him, and when he drained his powers, zangetsu fell into stasis and I couldn't talk to him either. I was alone in his inner world. All I ever felt was this heavy weight and this silence that I hated." He closed his eyes, "I never realized how much King drove the inner world until he couldn't access it. It stopped raining, there was no day or night. The landscape was gone, it was just like a void where his mind used to be. Then it came back and I was ecstatic when I realized i could feel him recovering."

"I never knew a hollow could be so attached to someone," Rukia muttered. Shiro's eyes snapped open.

"I ain't a normal hollow," He snapped, "I was with King since the beginning. I grew with him, learned with him, ever since his mother died at the hands of Grand Fisher. Before he became a soul reaper. He's always been part human, part shinigami, and part hollow."

"So he's your king, huh?" Karin commented, picking up on that.

"Yeah, what of it? He beat me for control of his body so therefore he's the King. Besides, he don't' mind me calling him that and he's never stated otherwise." Shiro huffed, before breaking out into another coughing fit. His hair was almost completely white and- was that armor beginning to cover his arms. "It seems his body is so weak that his hollow powers are beginning to manifest over his human body." Shiro winced, "I'm not surprised, seeing as I'm the only one strong enough to keep his soul intact."

"What would happen if you left?" Karin asked, fear tinting her words.

"He would die. Until his shinigami powers recover, the hollow part of him will be his main source of power, therefore physically affecting his appearance. He won't go full hollow, but he might look less than human for a while until he stabilizes. Even if he were in control I'm fairly certain this would still happen, so don't go blaming' this on me." He fell silent after that, noticing Urahara's shop in front of them.

"Urahara!" Rukia called out, wondering where he was. He came out from a back room and immediately froze. "We need you to watch over him."

"That's...is that Ichigo? But everyone thought he lost his powers!" It seemed even Urahara couldn't comprehend it.

"Nah, just drained him for a few months. Did you think it was that easy to get rid of?" Shiro spoke up. They noticed his nails had become sharper than normal and his skin was almost completely white, along with his hair. Even his clothing had changed, the armor substance covering him like a white shinigami robe, 'don't worry, this form is only temporary until he stabilizes. I'm I control for the foreseeable future until king wakes up in the inner world. Once I...go back in there I'll try to wake him If I can...but no promises as I can't leave this body unattended for too long in this condition."

"Bring him to the back and I'll watch over him. I'll get the details later," Urahara waved them forward and they noticed Renji was there as well. He frowned when he saw Shiro, but said nothing, having heard from the other room. At this point, history was too weak to move, so when chad lay him down, he didn't even bother trying to sit up. His breathing was labored and he seemed to retreat into himself.

"What the hell are we going to do?" Renji spoke at last. Nobody answered, all looking down at Shiro's still body.


	2. Chapter 2

Meanwhile, in their inner world, Ichigo was finally beginning to wake. Shiro was softly stroking his hair as he held him close. Zangetsu's body was asleep nearby, having still not woken up yet.

"Where? Shiro…" Ichigo tilted his head back to look at Shiro, who merely hummed in response. "So my powers...are starting to return." He tried to sit up but he had no strength. "I was lonely without you two to talk with."

"**Shh King, you still need to recover. I took control for a while to get you to Urahara's where your body can be watched over until it recovers. Zangetsu had yet to wake fro his clumber as your hollow powers are the first to recover."**

"Nobody's control my body huh, I thought you mentioned that was a bad thing in this state," Ichigo asked, finally managing to sit up.

"**It's only been half an hour since the last time I checked in, you can take your body back if you wish now that you are awake. The others are still wary of me, well, aside from Karin."**

"Thank you, Shiro," Ichigo murmured, hugging him despite his weakened state. Shiro returned it and motioned for him to get going. "Watch over Zangetsu and let me know when he awakes." With that, he was gone.

When Ichigo became aware of his surroundings, the first thing he heard was hushed voices coming from the other room. A quick glance at the window it clear he was out for a while, as it appeared to be earlier morning. And he had passed out around midday. He managed to gather enough strength in his limbs to sit up and eventually stand, but not without help from the wall. He wanted to see his friends again, it had felt like such a long time since he'd been able to see Rukia and Renji. He pulled open the door and gazed at the scene before him. The air was tense and he could feel the spiritual pressure radiating from everybody clearly now, which felt a bit overwhelming after having not felt it for months. Rukia and Renji were eating with Urahara, but it seemed as if the rest had gone home.

"Hey guys," he didn't speak very loudly, most become his couldn't, but they still heard him. "How long have I been out?"

"Only about a day and a half. The others went home, and Karin informed the rest of your family of what happened." Urahara answered, looking at him closely. "You shouldn't be up yet, Ichigo.

"I wanted to see everyone." Ichigo was beginning to feel weak again so he casually sat against the wall, a bit winded. "Besides, I feel a bit better than before." He managed to smile.

"I can't believe you've actually recovered your powers," Renji commented, holding out a bowl of food. Ichigo waved it away dismissively. He couldn't stand the thought of food right now.

"Sorry Renji, I'm not very hungry at the moment," He grimaced as he spoke as if the thought of eating pained him. Renji didn't push it, recognizing that there was no chance of Ichigo eating anytime soon.

"Uh Ichigo, have you looked at yourself recently?" Urahara seemed to notice that Ichigo had yet to ask why his body looked the way it did."

"Hmm, oh this?" Ichigo motioned to the fact that he looked nearly identical to Shiro, "I'm not surprised. Shiro said my hollow powers were the first one to stabilize so the physical manifestation of them would probably last a bit, although," Ichigo frowned deeply at whatever he was thinking, "If they are the first to stabilize, I'm wondering if my powers will go berserk again."

"**They won't, but you might be in some pain as your body fully hollowfies. They might want to to take you to the training room when that happens." Shiro commented, speaking to the entire room, "The first thing that'll happen is the hole in his chest."**

"Good to know," Ichigo muttered, running a hand through his hair. "But the sooner it finished stabilizing the better, cuz I hate looking exactly like Shiro."

"**I take offense to that King," Shiro muttered.**

"Oh shut it would ya? All white is your style, not mine." Ichigo snapped, aware that because of this everybody could hear Shiro.

"Does he talk to you all the time?" Rukia asked as she set her plate down, fully turning to face Ichigo.

"Mostly yeah, the first time he actually spoke to me was during my fight with Byakuya, when he forcefully took control of my body the first time. Then the fight with Kenpachi, one of the bounts...and a few other times before I went to the Vizards for help."

"**Hey, I just didn't want ya to be weak," Shiro put in, "zangetsu told me to push yeh a bit so I did. By pissing you off."**

"Yes yes, I am aware Shiro." Ichigo sighed, his eyes closing for a minute before he snapped out of it. He was beginning to feel worse again. Urahara seemed to take notice and gently grabbed his arm.

"Perhaps you should go lie down Ichigo, you're still sick." Ichigo didn't protest as Urahara helped him up. The others didn't follow, probably still trying to figure out how this happened he fell asleep almost immediately, but it wasn't peaceful or calm like it had been before. Instead of going to his inner world, he was sucked into a nightmare.


	3. Chapter 3

_Floating in blackness was the first thing he was aware of. It was freezing, colder than he had ever been before. Why was everyone gone? Where were they? Shiro? Zangetsu? Why couldn't he feel them. Pain lanced through his side and he looked down to see blood dispersing through the black like water. Was this water? He had to get to the surface. He began moving up, despite his chattering teeth and numb limbs, despite the pain flashing through various parts of his body as more and more wounds opened up._

_His chest burned with the need for oxygen, but was it just him or was the ater getting brighter. Sure enough, soon it was merely a deep blue. He could vaguely see the shapes of broken down skyscrapers underneath him. The glass had been what was cutting him, the water was full of it. He was almost there, he could see the clouds and where the water ended. He reached out as his vision blurred. Someone...please.. He burst through the surface and scrambled onto the skyscraper, shivering and gasping for breath. He was soaked and chilled to the bone. Pain radiates from his body and he was dizzy. He began coughing up copious amounts of water, unable to breathe. This is how he was going to die. His vision cleared and the lass disappeared. Something cracked beneath him. Then eh was falling rapidly, down into an unknown abyss. A strangled cry left his lips as he reached towards the sky. His back slammed against concrete and he arched up from the pain. Blood welled from the wounds and spread out around him as even more came up from his throat. He was choking on it. He managed to roll onto his side as a powerful force hit him in the back._

_Wake up! Wake up!_

_What? He was dreaming? Right, this was just a nightmare….just a…_

He snapped awake as another heavy blow landed on his back. He coughed up the remaining blood and lay panting and shaking, dizzy from blood loss. He opened his eyes only to see it was Renji who had been hitting him. Ruki was watching from the doorway with tears in her eyes. Urahara was crouched in front of him, gentle sliding his robe off his shoulders. He was bleeding. Where had the wound come from...why?

"What...the fuck...was that?" Ichigo managed to weakly rasp, sitting up and looking at the numerous wounds lining his body. There was quite a bit of blood underneath and around him. He shuddered at the was of cold that fell over him for a moment before it was gone. "How long-"

"Only a few hours. Urahara had me watching you while you slept in case something happened and then you just started thrashing around as cuts opened up all along your body." Renji answered, as Urahara began to wrap the wounds on his body.

"We'll get Orihime over here to heal them as soon as we can, but she's in school at the moment. Mind telling us what happened?" urahara asked.

"I don't know...It was just a nightmare…" Ichigo's eyes widened, "Unless it wasn't...I fell asleep and woke up in pitch blackness. I was underwater...there was broken skyscrapers and glass everywhere cutting me, and then when reached the surface the glass broke underneath me and I fell. It looked a lot like my inner world but…" ichigo didn't have an answer, and apparently neither did the others.

"Wait, you said the glass underneath you broke...you were standing on the window of a skyscraper?" rukia asked after a moment, 'how is that possible?"

"It's possible when my inner world is sideways." Ichigo answered, "I don't really understand that part either but Shiro and Zangetsu didn't have an answer for it so I never knew why."

"It appears as if you inner world is unstable because of you're returning powers, and you got pulled into a part that was disconnected from the others. Otherwise Shiro or Zangetsu would have pulled you away from there. At least, Zangetsu would." Rukia stated.

"Shiro would to, "Ichigo muttered, "bit protective that one." Shiro didn't comment, but he felt a spark of happiness from their link. The fact that he could talk to them again was just now catching up with Ichigo and for a moment he was overcome with a sense of pure joy...Which instantly dissolved as a spark of pain shot out from his chest like a wildfire. He bent over double, clutching at his chest as he tried to catch his breath. Fresh blood ebgan dripping from it and he dimly saw orange locks hanging in front of his face. Huh, guess his hair was back to normal. He could feel it grow out slightly as a hole began opening in his chest. Without waiting for anyone to speak, urahara swept him up and leapt down the ladder to the training room.

Urahara set him down and back away just as he body began to rapidly change, both Shiro and ichigo screaming in pain as the hollowfication hair length as his hollow mask appeared, covering his face like a helmet, complete with the horns. Ichigo's head thrashed from side to side as the rest of his body began to change into that of the form he took whilst fighting Ulquiorra. There was a tense silence as he seemed to still for a moment, before he gave a blood-curdling scream and then there was a completely white ichigo hitting the ground next to him. He stared at his hand with wide eyes, looking from himself to ichigo's body.


	4. Chapter 4

"**What the fuck? Oi, King...What the hell did ya do, bastard?" shiro got up and nudged ichigo's still body with his foot. **He got no response other than a muffled groan. Bit by bit the transformation was reversing, until all that was left was Ichigo's body covered in bandages and a torn white robe. "**King? Ya still with us? You didn't die did you, cuz that would be bad." he was crouched next to ichigo, poking him in the face.**

"What the hell is your problem?" Ichigo's voice was shaking and raspy as he raised a hand to bat Shiro's away. "It looks like...my body wasn't strong enough to handle the forced transformation and kicked you out of my head.

"**Uh, king? It wasn't just me your powers kicked out, look." Shiro pointed to a still from lying on the ground. It was zangetsu.**

"Why...how did this even happen!" Ichigo gave up trying to comprehend. 'I went from being sick to being pestered by you, to you being expelled from my inner world because my powers are coming back too fast."

"**So what do we do? We can't get back to you until your body adapts to your power...and we don't know how long that'll take. Plus zangetsu hasn't woken up yet, which mean i'm still the only part of your power to be recovering."**

"We wait," Ichigo shot Shiro a look when he snorted, "I'm not letting you go out and cause trouble Shiro. I don't trust you not to."

"**You offend me, king. Besides, I gotta protect you anyway. Not letting you out of my sight until at least Zangetsu wakes up." Shiro answered.**

"Yeah yeah, help me up?" ichigo asked, letting Shiro pull him to his feet. He stumbled and winced as he wounds flared up with pain. Just then they heard a call of, "Urahara-san! We're here. Urahara?"

"The entrance is open, but why would they- That was Ishida's voice, but he cut off as he leapt down to see the aftermath of what had just happened.

"Ichigo, you're awake! Adn Shiro, you're...not in Ichigo's body?" Karin wodnered, "who's that on the ground. Yuzu and his father were there as well.

"**Hey Karin!" Shiro greeted enthusiastically, "His body wasn't ready to handle our power and kicked me in the old man out of his head when he started transforming'." he said it so casually that the others sweatdropped.**

"But why is Zangetsu unconsciousness?" Isshin asked, coming over to look at him. Meanwhile, yuze rushed towards Ichigo, who merely chuckled and patted her head.

"My shinigami powers have yet to be restored so he's not active at all." ichigo answered, "yuzu could you..,maybe let go? I'm injured." he tried to say it gently but yuz leapt back as if burned.

'Oh god, ichi-nii I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Yuzu asked, tears welling in her eyes. Ichigo crouched down with some difficulty and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm fine, so quit your crying. It's just a few scratches."

"Ah! Let me heal you then, ichigo!" orihime rushed over to him, letting him sit down as she began undoing the bandages. Ichigo was leaning against shiro as his body threatened to give out again. When she revealed the multitude of wounds that were covering his body she gasped, beginning to heal them immediately. "How did this happen?"

"**Yes, how the fuck did this happen when I was watching over you constantly?" Shiro asked, looking at the wounds in surprise.**

"When I was asleep I was pulled into an unstable part of my inner world and got these trying to escape. It seemed like it wasn't yet connected to the stable part so you didn't feel it or notice." Ichigo cast a sidelong glance at Zangetsu, wondering when he would wake up. He sighed softly when he detected no trace of his power or mental link.

"**Thinking about when he'll wake up?" shrio asked softly, looking at where ichigo was, "I'm hoping he wakes up to. It's been so long since we spoke to each other."**

"Yeah," to Orihime he answered, 'thanks for healing me." With the strength returned to his limbs he managed to get up without help, though Shiro stuck next to him closely, looking unsure of himself. He had never been in his own body out here before. He didn't know what he was supposed to be doing really.

"So shiro, what's it like in ichigo's Inner world?" karin asked him, looking completely at ease with Shiro. Ichigo remembered that he would often let Shiro have control to talk to Karin because she requested it.

"**Everything is sideways to begin with and it's...a city kinda. Everything is really empty aside from the ground being made up of skyscrapers. You'd have to see it to really understand it." Shiro answered with a shrug. "I personally think it's the way it is because Ichigo is insane but he'd deny it." Shiro grinned when ichigo hit him in the back of the head.**

"I'm not denying it," ichigo muttered, "to do some of the things I do i'm pretty sure I'd be surprised if I wasn't insane. After all, I do have you in my head." ichigo smirked when Shiro glared at him.

"**You're weird, King." Shiro mumbled, but was there a faint traces of red in his normally white cheeks? He looked away and crossed his arms, gaze once again drawn to Zangetsu. He began walking towards the body of his friends when he felt a sharp pain in his chest, likewise felt by ichigo. "Looks like we can only be a certain distance away from each other."**

"Yeah, don't do that again." Ichigo answered, voice pained. All the energy he had moments before seemed to have drained from him at the burst of agony he had felt. Shiro sighed at the state of his King as he returned to him, gently pushing some energy into him. It didn't seem to affect him as shiro thought it would, but the tension faded from his body.

"**Wasn't planning to. What are we going to do now? Any ideas?" Shiro asked ichigo. When he didn't get an answer he turned to see Ichigo swaying on his feet. "Ichigo? C'mon, don't pass out again. Didn't think you were that weak, king."**

"Shudup…"Ichigo slurred, "You're not...the one in this body anymore." Ichigo would've fallen to his knees had Shiro not picked him up effortlessly. Ichigo's eyes closed and his breathing settled into one of sleep.

"**Well, king's asleep again. Urahara, we should move them back upstairs." Shiro cradled ichigo close to him protectively, and went towards zangetsu's body. He held out a hand towards zangetsu and they watched as his body began to change until it became Ichigo's old sword. Without another word, Shiro leapt straight up and grinned down at them, waving impatiently. He settled ichigo's unconscious form where it used to be, noticing that Tessai had cleaned the blood from earlier.**

"Nothing is ever simple with him, is it?" rukia commented, staring down at her friend.

"**No it ain't. But that's why he's my king." Shiro gently carded his fingers through Ichigo's hair, smiling when he relaxed t his touch and seemed to curl into him. "I would never ask for a different one."**


	5. Chapter 5

It was three days before ichigo woke again, though shiro never left his side. Zangetsu had yet to wake either, and Siro was desperate for some form of communication with his king. He was staring out the window, and therefore didn't notice Ichigo stirring.

The first thing ichigo was aware of the next time he woke was the fact that Shiro was sitting in the corner staring out the window, and nobody else was in the room. The second thing he noticed was the sheer agony his body was feeling. Even the faintest breath sent pain dancing through his body. He couldn't move, and every breath he drew into his body made him feel as if he were being crushed by an invisible force. He closed his eyes and realised it was his own spiritual energy. His Reiryoku was slowly crushing him now that the reason for those powers was no longer inside his body. He tried to speak, but his voice didn't seem to work. He tried to sit up but his limbs wouldn't obey.

"Sh…" it was the faint exhale of Shiro's name that snapped him into attention, looking over at Ichigo's too still body. It didn't look like he was breathing. Forcing down his panic, he slowly made his way over, trying to sense any sign of life. When he saw ichigo's pained face he knew something was wrong. "...Iro."

"**King?" Shiro placed a hand to his face and gasped at the sheer weight of reiatsu pressing down on his body. But he couldn't feel anything when he let go. "Your Reiryoku, huh? I can't feel it unless I'm touching you, so i don't think it's escaping your body at all. Otherwise the others would have felt it...but it's probably crushing your body at the moment so I'll see if I can help." He touched ichigo again and focused on transferring some of his Reiryoku** **into him, ignoring the way it burned. When ichigo appeared to be breathing easier he smiled. At least he knew now that it worked. Acting as an outlet for the Reiryoku he kept a hand on ichigo at all times, letting the reiryoku be exerted as reiatsu. The others must have sensed it because urahara came in to see what was going on.**

"What's happening?" urahara asked, sitting next to him.

"**His body was being crushed by the amount of Reiryoku he has, but since he has no way to get rid of it until he establishes, i'm acting as it's outlet so he won't be in pain. Otherwise his body will be physically crushed by the pressure.**

"I see, it's nearly been a week since this began, i wonder how much longer it will continue until his powers are fully restored." Urahara mused, looking down at ichigo's once again sleeping form.

"**It'll take at least a few more days, and at most the end of next week. All We gotta do is keep watch over him until he's well again." Even though he spoke the truth, Shiro sounded uncertain.**

"Is something bothering you, Shiro?" Urahara asked, placing a hand on the hollow's shoulder.

"**I just…" Shiro sighed and thought about it some more before answering, "when he lost his powers he didn't seem all that sad to you right? But inside his mind as it began breaking down, he was different. Something seemed to break inside him and I don't know what'll happen now. He was just beginning to accept he wouldn't be getting his powers back and then he has, only to find that as of right now they are doing more harm than good."**

"You're worried about his mental state," urahara concluded. "I too was worried when he lost his powers. His friends grew distant from him, treated him as if he was fragile. He's visited me a few times, seeing as how I'm in a gigai and he can see me still, but he always leaves before the others arrive. I think I've seen just as you have, the extent of damage that losing his powers caused him. The first time he came here, a month after losing his powers, he looked utterly defeated and lost. He asked me what he should do now, and being honest, I didn't know how to answer him. All his life he could see spirits, and then with that one fight he lost it all to protect the people he could no longer see. Knowing that and still managing to smile like he did...it would have been too much for anyone to handle on their own. But that's what he did."

"**And then all of the sudden he was thrust back into chaos and confusion when his powers returned," Shiro murmured, "He went from a normal human, to sacrificing his entire existence for a world who screwed him over countless times."**

"The others will be here shortly, I have to go oversee their training."

"**I'll watch over him as always,"Shiro answered softly, "I will always protect my King."**

"I know you will," Urahara replied as he closed the door behind him. Shiro fell asleep curled against his king.


	6. Chapter 6

"I see you've finally woken Zangetsu," Ichigo murmured, looking at where zangetsu had returned from sword form to human.

"_I have, seems as if I've missed a lot." Zangetsu answered, looking at where Shio was curled against Ichigo, who had subconsciously wrapped his arms around the hollow._

"Yeah, according to Shiro my powers never fully disappeared, they were just so drained it took months before they came back to the extent I could hear hollows again. Then I heard one about last week which triggered a large amount of my powers to come back all at once and start gradually breaking down my body to adapt it to what it used to be before."

"**Mmm, ichigo who are you talking to/" shiro mumble sleepily, snuggling closer to ichigo, who merely smiled.**

'Zangetsu's awake Shiro, don't you want to say hi to him?" ichigo prompted, nudging the hollow a bit to get him to listen. Immediately Shiro was sitting up and flying towards zangetsu, hugging him tightly and laughing lightly.

"**You woke up! I missed you zangetsu!"** **Shiro was grinning, making a smile come to Zangetsu's face.**

"Shiro...would you mind?" ichigo was panting heavily as his body started trembling. Immediately guilt shown across the hollow's face as he returned to ichigo's side, gently guiding him closer to Zangetsu.

"**Sorry, king. I got excited." shiro looked like he had just killed him, making zangetsu frown. Ichigo looked completely different the moment Shiro had let go of him. His face was twisted with pain and it had looked like he was forced to the ground.**

"_What's going on?" Zangetsu asked, motioning towards the contact. Ichigo was still breathing heavily ,ytring to recover rom the sudden reiryoku crushing him for a few seconds. He didn't blame the hollow._

"My reiryoku recovered too fast for my body to handle, so Shiro has had to keep physical contact with me for the past two days because my own spiritual energy was crushing me, since my power isn't stable yet.

"_How long will it be like this?" Zangetsu asked with concern obvious in his tone._

"**By tomorrow at the least, a few days at the most. Now that you're awake the rest of his power should stabilize soon. At least his natural powers. Once we can get back into his inner world though...it'll be harsh." Shiro was biting his lip as he looked over at ichigo.**

"The transformation that my body wasn't able to take will resume right? And then what'll happen?" Ichigo asked, looking to shiro as he had been awake the entire time and knew more than zangetsu did.

"**After your hollow powers reconnect to your body and then stabilize, you'll probably be forced into spirit form as Zangetsu's power reconnects with yours. Mine will be the most painful, bt both are only at most a minute long. After that, it'll just be a matter of more rest and then training to get to your former level. Since you've been training with Urahara despite not having any powers, it shouldn't be too difficult to work with us again." Shiro then pulled both Zangetsu and ichigo in a hug, making the three of them smile.**

"Looks like somebody's all touchy-feely today, i see your zanpakuto has finally woken." urahara commented in amusement. "Feeling better today ichigo/"

"Eh, I've felt worse." Ichigo responded, though nobody missed the way he struggled to stay upright without support.

"Well, are you feeling well enough to finally eat something? Your body wouldn't be so weak had it been given food during your five day sleep." this time food sounded appealing to ichigo so he accepted and let Zangetsu and Shiro help him up.

"Ahh, Ichigo," renji greeted, 'finally up and about."

"Yeah, for a bit at least." Ichigo began to slowly eat, making sure his body could handle the amount of food he was eating. Nobody commented on it, though he could see a few glances.

"So do you always cuddle with your hollow, ichigo?" Renji teased, though ichigo didn't really react.

"How would i have done that before if this is the first time he's had a physical form renji? Besides, I was asleep the past five days." But he didn't say he didn't like it. There was something calming about shiro that Ichigo liked. In a brotherly sense, not romantic.

"**Why ya so curious anyway?" Shiro asked, "jealous?" That definitely got a reaction form renji, who scowled and tensed.**

"No way in hell ya damn hollow." Renji answered. Ichigo chuckled quietly, and amusement danced in urahara's eyes.

"So this is what you've been hiding," Everyone, including urahara, jumped at the sound of Yoruichi's voice. "Seems like I've missed a lot."

"Yoruichi! You've been gone a while." urahara greeted, completely dismissing the fact that she was stark naked and had her arms wrapped around ichigo's neck.

"Uhh, would you mind letting go?" ichigo asked, not impressed. Shiro was laughing at her antic's, while renji was dutifully ignoring her in favor of eating his food.

"Aww, what's with that reaction? You're so boring ichigo." She let go of him and produced clothes from a bag she was carrying.

"No offence, but it's nothing I haven't' seen before." Ichigo muttered, "I work at a family clinic. After the amount of people i've had to undress in order to treat wounds, I'm more surprised you expected me to react at all." Ichigo commented as he continued eating. Shiro was full out laughing now, and even zangetsu was smiling.

"I'd forgotten that. So, you've gotten your powers back?" Yoruichi asked, reaching for some food.

"Mostly yeah, it's hell at the moment though. The second Shiro lets go of me my body is crushed by my own reiryoku." Ichigo was beginning to lean more on Shiro than before, seeming to have lost his energy. Urahara sighe softly upon seeing this.

"Go get some more rest ichigo. You lasted a bit longer but you're still recovering." ichigo didn't answer, just shrugged and let Shiro pull him up. Zangetsu stayed out in the other room, probably to get the filled in version from urahara as he gave it to Yoruichi.

"**Are you feeling alright, king?" shiro asked, seeing that Ichigo was sweating profusely. Ichigo didn't answer, just curled up against Shiro, burying his face in Shiro's chest as he lay propped up on one elbow, the other one stroking Ichigo's hair. "How long are you going to suffer like this, ichigo?"**

"As long as my power remains unstable, " Ichigo responded sarcastically, glancing playfully up at Shiro, "Sorry, I'm sure you're worried.

'**Of course I am, I'm so used to knowing how you feel, but that i'm outside of your head I can't feel a thing. I want to know how your coping." shiro murmured softly, aware that Zangetsu was the only other one who could hear through the link.**

"I'll be fine as soon as my powers stabilize. It'll be weird having them after gogin all these months without them but...if it means you two are back and i can once again protect those I care about, then I'll be fine. I think the worst part...was knowing that the people i used to protect were no longer a part of my life anymore. Everyone from soul society was gone and I was never really all that close with anyone else." Ichigo sighed.

"**Ichigo?" Shiro asked when he didn't speak for a few minutes.**

"I don't know why...but there's something soothing about you. Being near you and zangetsu is calming." Ichigo smiled as his breathing evened out and he fell into a -for once- peaceful sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day wasn't nearly as peaceful for Ichigo. He had woken to sever pain flaring through his head and chest, despite the fact that shiro was acting as an outlet. Breathing hard and coughing harshly, the room began spinning and he couldn't seem to find the strength to move. Blood quickly began flowing from an opening hole in his chest as he frantically shook Shiro awake. Shiro himself was looking weak as he picked up Ichigo, zangetsu keeping silent as he watched them. Urahara saw them and opened the area for the training room.

To say the people suing the training room were surprised would be an understatement. They all stopped what they were doing as Shiro laid Ichigo down, before he began fading out of existence. The hollow mask appeared over Ichigo's face as the changer began rapidly this time. In a moment the transformation was completely and he lay there panting, trying to regain his senses. Something was off.

"**Feed!" Shiro screamed in his mind, hunger gnawing at his mind like a parasite. "Must feed…" the month of hunger and instinct to devour was straining at Ichigo's mind and he subconsciously dug gouged into the earth with his claws. He growled low in his throat, the noise amplified and doubled by the hollow mask.**

"**Feed…" he growled, before he blinked and his eyes cleared. He shook off the hunger and struggled to rein in and subdue shiro, who seemed to have lost his mind.**

"Ichigo?" Rukia asked warily, having sensed something off. "Could you...take off the mask?" unlike last time, the mask was the only thing that remained from the transformation. He slowly eased his hand up and removed the mask slowly, crushing it and dispelling the hollowfication. Shiro was still going crazy in his mind, but before he could respond zangetsu disappeared and he was forced out of his human body. But something was different. Zangetsu looked different than normal, there were two swords instead of one. The first blade he held in his hand was like the one he had originally, bu then there was a shorter blade strapped to his waist, that had not been there before. He was wearing normal shinigami robes, but he had two white shoulder plates, crossing in an x over his chest, and a white cloak with black marking tied around his waist. The shoulder plate on the left had three section with red stripes, much like his hollow mask, and then at his right side, the same. Then he was forced into bankai, which looked relatively the same, aside from him now holding two sounds. The black one he had used originally, complete with the chain that looped around his entire arm, and then a second, slightly shorter one, that was white and connected to the other by a chain. He'd have to practice using that then, it was different. All of the sudden pain shot through his entire body and he almost fell to his knees as his reiatsu flared out from him like a waterfall. He began reigning it in as best he could, because he could see that the others were uncomfortable with it. When he had done so, he was actually a bit proud of himself. He had been practicing before he fully lost his powers, but to be able to do so effortlessly after so long was an accomplishment on his part. Once all that was finished he was forcefully brought back to his body. He hardly had any time to prepare before his vision faded and he was sinking back into unconsciousness.

"**Feed…" Shiro snarled, struggling to get to his feet under the pressure Ichigo was exerting in his inner world. "Must feed…" What the hell was going on with him?  
**"_Shiro…" Zangetsu tried to approach and immediately backed away when he made contact with the bulb of pressure subduing Shiro, "What's gotten into you?"_

"_**Must feed!" Shiro screamed, managing to stand and stumble towards him. Ichigo appeared inside his inner world with a sigh.**_

"I don't know what happened shiro, but I'm not letting you out of there until you're calm." Ichigo commented with a frown, increasing the pressure until Shiro couldn't stand any longer. Ichigo casually walked through until he crouched in front of Shiro. He placed a hand on his head, and Shiro stopped struggling for a moment.

"**What…?" Shiro tried to move only to find his couldn't, "What the hell, King? Why are you crushing me?"**

"You tell me," Ichog growled, "My power stabilizes and you start rampaging the moment you get back in my head." He let go of shiro and eased up on the pressure a bit. Shiro seemed to be struggling against something, so Ichigo touched him again with the purpose of finding out what. He didn't get that far.

With a scream of outrage, Shiro lunged forward and sank his teeth into ichigo's arm, eyes completely black. Ichigo grit his teeth and increased the pressure restraining him once more, causing shiro to let go of him. "Any ideas, Zangetsu?"

"_Could it be...that he requires Hollows? We've never encountered this problem because you always killed them daily, ut he's been trapped in your mind for months without a single hollow to feed on." Zangetsu questioned, frowning at the prospect._

"You may be right." ichigo helped his bleeding arm closer to him and stared down at Shiro, who had once again stopped struggling. It seemed he was going in and out of control. "I'm leaving you like this until I can go out and kill some hollows."

"**What happened to your arm?" shiro asked, seeing the blood. It seemed he didn't remember his bouts of no control.**

"You bit me," Ichigo stated casually, "It seems that you're losing control to your hunger, so until I'm recovered enough to go kill hollows, you're staying like that." Ichigo disappeared from his inner world before Shiro could even apologize.

It was probably for the best anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

When Ichigo opened his eyes, he wasn't surprised to see that Urahara was in the room with him. Ichigo sat up, feeling much better than he had all week.

"I take it you feel better, Ichigo," Urahara commented, holding out a plate of food. Ichigo took it with a grateful smile.

"There's something you want me to do, isn't there? Otherwise, you wouldn't be giving me that look." Ichigo set down his empty plate and waited for Urahara to speak.

"Recently, there's been another group of rogue shinigami. Except, they also have hollow masks. The problem, they've taken to actively attacking the soul society. All we know for certain is that unlike the Vizards, instead of controlling their hollows after beating them, they're more like you. They talk and form bonds with their inner hollow. That's why I think they'll try to recruit you."

"You want me to join them," Ichigo stated, he knew the answer.

"Yes, but to do that," Urahara sighed, "you'll have to become our enemy. The others can't know of this. Can you do it?"

"I'll do it if it means protecting everybody, in the end, even If I have to hurt them first," Ichigo stated, determination set into his voice. "How much time do I have/"

"They'll probably try to contact you by the end of the week," Urahara replied," However you'll have to start showing signs of aggression before that. Become cold, distant. Shut the others out and try to make yourself scarce around them. It all chalks up to your acting abilities.."

"Well it's a good thing I'm a great actor then, isn't it?" I asked rhetorically, climbing to my feet. "I'll head home now, and I promise I'll tell them nothing."

"Well," Ichigo muttered under his breath, "Let the game begin."

He made it home without incident and went straight to his room, ignoring the calls of his family as he passed them. He had to mentally prepare for hurting everyone later. He was too wound up to sleep, so instead, he opened the window and stared out into the night. He was waiting for the detection of a hollow so that Shiro could eat and be released, but it didn't look like one would be showing up today.

"Ichigo!" He tilted his head in the direction of his door, shooting a glare at his father as he burst into the room. He held up a hand to stop the explosion of questions from everyone's mouths.

"What do you want?" Ichigo scowled, letting them know he wasn't happy at the interruption.

"We just...uh," Karin stammered, taken aback by the anger, "Are you alright?

"I'm fine, would you mind getting out?" Ichigo sighed, waving them away. Karin got the message and dragged the two away before closing the door behind her.

"_Are you sure you can handle this?" zangetsu whispered in Ichigo's head. Ichigo didn't answer, but the numbness floating through his body was painfully clear. He would do everything he had to in order to make sure nobody could see through him. " I see you have already made your decision. You've grown stronger."_

"I'm not too sure about that," Ichigo whispered before laying down on his bed and falling asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

"**Feed…" Shiro growled. "It's close…"**

Ichigo bolted upright with a gasp, leaping out the window before he had time to even question what the hell he was doing. The pull towards the hollow was just too strong. He needed to kill it. His robes billowed behind him as he got used to using shun-po again. He thought he saw a flash of robes to his left, but there was no telling as the hollow came into view. He pulled the mask of his face without hesitation and struck it down with two swings, the mask glowing eerily as Shiro sucked in its essence with glee. The insanity that he had felt from the link faded into blissful silence.

"You good, Shiro? Not insane anymore?" Ichigo asked into the night, a small smile on his face.

"**I'm good, Thanks King," Shiro responded.**

"Ichigo Kurosaki, seems you're more in tune with your inner hollow than we thought," A voice from behind him spoke. He grinned and turned to face the man, "Rylen Cagri, at your service."

"I wouldn't go that far, what can I do for you?" Ichigo responded, casually twirling his sword. It felt nice to hold zangetsu again after so long.

"Ah, I just thought I would come to see if it was true that your powers have returned, tell me, were you surprised?" He asked, gradually coming closer. He had a lithe yet muscular build, about the same height as Ichigo. His eyes were a piercing blue but his hair was as dark as the night itself with a somewhat blue sheen to it. It fell to just below his ears and curled slightly.

"Yeah, they told me it was gone for good…"Ichigo scowled despite the blush on his face for noticing anything about this guy, "And everyone avoids me like the plague when I lost my powers, now I get them back and suddenly they're just…" it was hard to find the right words.

"Overbearing? I know the feeling," He smiled bitterly, "When I revealed that I had a hollow inside me everyone turned their backs and forgot about me. But when I came back and saved their sorry asses it all changed. They worshipped me in order to get me back on their side, but I knew. I knew they would never tell me the truth after that. So I left," he stepped fully into the light and Ichigo forgot how to breathe.

"**This will make things more difficult," Shiro commented, amused.**

"Oh shut it," I muttered back to him, "Exactly like that actually. When I discovered that Shiro existed I was terrified to tell them anything. It wasn't until I had to save them that I actually showed off my power and then...The looks of terror on their faces kind of broke me." Everything he was saying was true in a way.

"How about you come with to get acquainted with the group, eh?" He placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder and handed him a card, "We would love to have you,"

Ichigo took the card with a smile, "How about I do a rain check? It's rather late and I still have to go to school tomorrow. If I miss a day they'll get suspicious. And we don't want that, now do we?" His smile turned into more of a smirk as he saw the happiness in the other man. He acted som human, even more so than the soul reapers or Vizards.

"I'll take you up on that offer, Ichigo," the way he said Ichigo's name made a shiver go down his spine, but it wasn't from fear. Just looking into this man's eyes got him lost. "I'll see you later then," The man turned to walk away.

"Same to you, Rylen," something told Ichigo there was more to the supposed enemy than anyone knew. Done with his duties for the night, Ichigo lowered himself back into his body, dreams of piercing blue eyes and tantalizing lips filling his mind.


	10. Chapter 10

"Ichigo, we heard you've finally gotten over your sickness! Welcome back," Orihime greeted. Ichigo kept a scowl for a moment, as if the thought of her voice annoyed him, before forcing a smile on his somewhat tired looking face. He was still paler than normal, and there was a heaviness to his limbs he wasn't used to. Numerous times he almost dozed off in class, but the teacher cut him some slack noticing he didn't look fully recovered. After school ended she kept him back. The others hesitated, but a quick glare had them scurrying away.

"Kurosaki-kun, are you feeling alright? I noticed you still seemed a bit under the weather," His teacher asked, worried.

"I'm fine, I still feel a bit off, but I'll be alright. Besides, if I missed too many days I'll never catch up," Ichigo answered easily, hiding his slight discomfort. He was fine, really, it was just the lingering adjustments his body had yet to make.

"If you say so, you run along now," The teacher sighed, but smiled as Ichigo left the door.

The one thing he wasn't expecting was Rylen waiting for him outside the gates, dressed in casual clothing and wearing sunglasses that covered his amazing eyes. Ichigo wished he would take them off.

"**I would tease you, but he is pretty hot," Shiro muttered in his brain.**

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked curiously, completely ignoring his hollow for a moment as he took in Rylan's appearance. "Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything,"

"I had some free time and wanted to see if you'd like to go get something to eat before I take you to meet the others, "Rylen answered easily, 'I understand that last night was a bit sudden when you hardly know anything about us." Ichigo sighed in relief, offering the man a grateful smile.

"I'd love to, just let me put on something that's not a school uniform first," Ichigo led him towards his house, chatting idly about things. "Do you want to wait inside? Nobody should be home at the moment so you won't have to deal with dad…" Ichigo trailed off when Rylen finally took his glasses off, revealing those shocking blue eyes and a smile.

"Of course, unless you'd prefer me to wait outside that is," Ichigo just blushed slightly and opened the door, motioning to the couch. Rylen made himself comfortable, gazing around the room at all the pictures. Ichigo headed up to his room to pick out an outfit, realizing belatedly that he just let the enemy into his house just like that. Oh well, it's not like everyone didn't already know where he lived anyway.

He was just reaching for his shirt when he heard movement and turned to see Rylen had wandered upstairs. His gaze met Ichigo's and a frown settled over his face when he saw the scars covering Ichigo's torso.

"Those aren't from being a soul reaper, scars don't stay," Rylen crossed the threshold of his room and looked closely at the various scars on his back, "Where did you get them?"

"It's not that interesting, really," Ichigo answered, buttoning up his white shirt, "People pick fights with me because of my hair, I take care of them but sometimes they get lucky shots in,"

"They make fun of your hair? I think it's beautiful," Rylen grabbed a lock of it between his fingers, "If you grew it out a bit more it would be even better," Ichigo felt a smile tugging at his lips.

"That was the plan," Ichigo answered, "before losing my powers I trained for three months in the dangai and my hair grew out a bit. I was thinking of letting it stay that way,"

"Shall we go?" Rylen asked, finally letting go of his hair in favor of letting a hand run across his cheek.

"Sure, where did you have in mind?" Ichigo replied, leading the way downstairs. He locked the door behind him as Rylen began describing a cafe he knew.

"It has the best chocolate cake I've ever tasted," he grinned, 'You have to try it!"

"Sure thing, one can never resist chocolate," Ichigo laughed lightly, "_Especially_ if it's cake."

They were approaching the cafe when Ichigo's phone rang, making Ichigo pause and pull out his phone. "It's my dad, you go ahead and grab a table and I'll join you in a second," Ichigo told him easily, staring at the caller id.

"Don't take to long," Rylen answered as he went inside. Ichigo flipped open his phone and restrained himself from growling.

"What do you want, Urahara?" Ichigo failed to keep all of the anger out of his voice,

"Sorry, sorry," Urahara apologized, "Just wanted to check up on you. Have you been contacted yet?"

"Yeah, late last night," Ichigo sighed, "I'm with him now so if this drags on any longer he'll probably come to get me," He hesitated, "I'm not sure what the soul society thinks of him, but he seems...normal at the moment."

"Normal? What do you mean by that," Urahara asked, "According to Rukia and the others, he launched an attack a few days ago and heavily injured a few of the fifth division members,"

"I'll look into it, but right now he's acting more human than I've ever seen a soul reaper act," Ichigo hung up before Urahara could respond and made his way into the cafe.

He just wanted to enjoy today.


	11. Chapter 11

"Ichi-nii, you're back!" Yuzu exclaimed, throwing herself at Ichigo as he walked through the door. Ichigo smiled and returned the hug for a moment before pushing her away gently to set his things down.

"Yeah, sorry I'm home so late," Ichigo answered, 'I was out with a friend of mine,"

"Who was it?" Karin asked, also entering the room.

"Someone you've never met," Ichigo answered with a smile, "He's really nice, maybe I'll invite him over some time." Even as he was speaking his mind drifted to Rylen's parting words.

"_At midnight I'll come to get you and introduce you to the family," Rylen smiled, "We'll start with teaching you how to manifest your hollow outside your body,"_

"Ichigo," Karin started hesitantly, "What was up with last night?" Ichigo sighed softly, but the smile stayed on his face.

"Sorry about that, I had a lot to think about and didn't feel up with social interaction," Ichigo chuckled when he saw that Karin smiled at the admission.

"I understand," Karin eventually said, "you did just get your powers fully restored, I guess we shouldn't have bugged you so soon."

"I'm fine now though," Ichigo assured her, "No worries."

"C'mon, dinner's almost ready!" Yuzu exclaimed happily, pulling him into the dining room. Ichigo indulged her because he knew it was one of the last time he would be feeling this happy in the future.

Laying in his room that night, Ichigo decided to visit his inner world. The skyscrapers were fully restored and Zangetsu was once more on his flagpole, conversing with Shiro.

"Hey," Ichigo greeted, drawing their attention. Shiro grinned at him, while Zangetsu remained silent.

"**Hey King," Shiro greeted, "Someone seems rather happy about Rylen," The teasing glint in Shiro's eyes did nothing to stop the blush from appearing on Ichigo's face.**

"Shut up," Ichigo grumbled, smacking him in the back of the head. Zangetsu, much to their surprise, chuckled softly.

"_He's made you happier in two days than they have in one year," zangetsu replied, "For being a supposed enemy, he's either a great actor or he genuinely cares about you."_

Ichigo frowned at that, the joy fading from his expression, "He's supposed to be our enemy, so why doesn't he feel like one?"

"**Maybe he's not the one behind the attack? Did they ever see his face?" Shiro suggested, "It could have been someone else acting out."**

"_Or he doesn't trust you," zangetsu argued, "he could be using this as a chance to win you over before revealing his true intentions."_

"I know that," Ichigo answered half-heartedly, "but if what he's doing makes me happy, that one less thing I have to try and fake, right?" The uncertainty written on his face made Shiro and Zangetsu free. They'd never seen such blatant helplessness on his face before.

"**Oh, King," Shiro put a hand on his shoulder, "As of right now, he hasn't done anything to suggest he's tricking you. Just keep your guard up, alright?"**

"Yeah," Ichigo sighed, "thanks. It's almost time to go," He looked up at Shiro and zangetsu with a strained smile before vanishing from his inner world.

"**I feel bad, we just ruined his moment of happiness," Shiro sighed.**

"_He needed to hear it," zangetsu reassured, "it was something he already knew anyway."_

"**Yeah, let's just hope it doesn't break him, 'Shiro murmured, "I've never seen that look on his face before. Either he'll come of this happy, or he won't come out of this at all."**

"_For Ichigo's sake," Zangetsu answered, "I hope you're wrong."_

"**Me to," Shiro replied.**


End file.
